


With Every Fibre of My Being

by okapi



Category: Doctor Strange (2016), Sherlock Holmes & Related Fandoms
Genre: 221B Ficlet, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Inanimate Objects, Cloakstaff, Crack, Gen, Is the Ship Name
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-11
Updated: 2016-12-31
Packaged: 2018-08-30 07:52:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 3,094
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8524870
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/okapi/pseuds/okapi
Summary: Doctor Strange's Cloak of Levitation meets Sherlock Holmes's Belstaff. Crack. Inspired by fanart.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Русский available: [И с каждым волокном моего бытия (With Every Fibre of My Being)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/8568883) by [Merla](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Merla/pseuds/Merla)



> A bit of silly, fluffy crack. Leave a comment for more!
> 
> Also, in this AU, Anthea is Mrs. Hudson's niece.

“Aunt Martha, help!”

“My dear, whatever is the matter?”

“Mister Holmes is holding very delicate negotiations with an American gentleman and…”

“Yes?”

“I spilled tea on the gentleman's cloak! And it won’t come out! I’ve tried everything!” She unbundled the garment in her hands, revealing a dark stain on red wool.

“I’m a landlady, not a laundress!” Mrs. Hudson cried.

Dark eyes widened.

“Oh, I’m sorry, my dear. It’s just that Sherlock just brought down that lovely coat of his. It seems that one of his experiments went awry and…” She waved at the coat in the chair. “Strange to have two requests in such quick succession. And I suppose you need it done at once.”

“I’ve two hours. I’m going to the office now to collect some documents.”

“I’ll text you when it’s done.”

“I knew you could do it! How many frocks did you save when I was girl? Thank you! You're my hero!” She kissed her on the cheek and rushed out the door.

“All right,” said Mrs. Hudson, setting the cloak beside the Belstaff. “You two get to know each other while I fix myself a quick cuppa.”

_Greetings, I am the Cloak of Levitation._

**_You’re magic._ **

_Yes, and you are…_

**_Science._ **

_Greetings, Science._

**_No, that’s not my name. It’s my, well, purview. My name is Belstaff._ **


	2. Chapter 2

**_Extraordinary._ **

_Well, I am quite good in a fight._

**_No, well, yes, the whole story is fabulous, but the most interesting part is that_ you _chose_ him.**

_Ah, yes, I’d been hanging in a glass case in the New York Sanctum Sanctorum for years waiting for the right person to come along, and when I saw him, I knew at once that he was the one._

**_How?_ **

_He was so perfectly imperfect. And it was obvious, within the first few moments of our meeting, that he needed me. To have his back in a fight. To keep him safe. To keep his ego in check._

**_Ah, then yours doesn’t have a John._ **

_A what?_

**_I protect mine, keep him shielded from the elements, but not as thoroughly as you do. Mine has a doctor, an ex-soldier. His name is John. He has his back; he keeps him safe; he tries—unsuccessfully, most of the time—to keep his ego in check. Once, after John fell in the Thames, I was draped around him. It was quite lovely._ **

_Mine had a doctor. Before. She gave him a watch. But these days…_ the red wool rippled _.…I suppose I am his John._

**_Extraordinary._ **

_Well, now you know my story. How about yours?_

**_Ah, well, mine’s a bit different. It’s of bespoke and buttonholes._ **


	3. Chapter 3

_Damn?_

**_Yes! Oh, I remember scissors snipping and white chalk strokes and the soft whir of a machine, but those are more impressions than recollections. My first clear memory was a voice. It was him, and he said, “Damn!”_ **

_Whatever for?_

**_He’d stabbed himself with a needle, you see. Mrs. Hudson offered to help, but he refused. He said, “This coat needs a splash of colour, then it will be perfect.”_ **

_So it was he who created you?_

**_No, well, yes. Most of me was made in a shop for him, but this, this red buttonhole, he added himself. And that’s, well, when I became me._ **

_Extraordinary._

**_Is it?_ **

_Of course, it is. And he solves crimes?_

**_Yes, and puzzles, the ones he finds interesting, at any rate, and when he’s not doing that, he’s reading—_ **

_Oh, mine’s forever got his nose in a dusty book. I like to turn the pages for him._

**_I like to keep mine’s feet warm. It helps him sleep, and he’s so very stubborn about sleeping sometimes._ **

_Stubborn, eh? Mine’s so stubborn that I’m forced drag him in the right direction! For his own good, mind you._

“Oh, what a day! Not a blessed moment to even read the newspaper. Suppose it’ll still be news tomorrow.”

PLOP!

RING-RING-RING!

“Now, where did I leave my bloody—?”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm thrilled with the attention my little cracky idea is getting. For the unfamiliar, a 221b ficlet is a form of microfiction common in the Sherlock Holmes fandom. It is a story of 221 words with the final word starting with the letter 'b.'
> 
> Also, I am a true WIP-er, i.e., I am writing this story as I go along. So if you have an idea (or a question you'd like answered), there's a good chance it will feed the muse.

PLOP!

The newspaper fell open as it dropped on the table.

RING-RING-RING!

Mrs. Hudson turned sharply and hurried out of the room, muttering “My phone, my phone.”

**_That’s him, that’s mine._ **

_Really?_

The cloak floated to the table and spread the newspaper flat.

_Sherlock Holmes._

**_Yes, that’s his name. And that’s…_ **

_You!_

**_Yes._ **

_That’s something I’ll never see:  my photo in a newspaper. And you look so dashing!_

**_Well, thank you._ **

_And you make him look so dashing, too!_

**_That’s part of the job, isn’t it?_ **

_Some days it feels like the only job._

**_Mine’s always turning up my collars. He says it’s to avoid photographers, but it’s really just to make himself look cool. As if the cut-glass cheekbones weren’t enough!_ **

_Oh, don’t get me started with the collars! Mine don’t even turn down! But they’re useful for doing this…_ The cloak wiggled his pointy tips _…when he’s making—or contemplating making—a genuine ass of himself. And then there’s the constant billowing._

**_Oh, the billowing! At least you can billow of your volition! I am forced to wait and pray and hope for the slightest air current so that I can catch it and whoosh!_ **

_There’s nothing for it, I’m afraid. What’s a hero’s triumphant march without the cape a-flyin’?_

**_True. They’d look very silly if we didn’t billow._ **


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the mis-formatting on the earlier chapter. The Belstaff should be in bold italics and the cloak in regular italics.

_You know, the photograph is grainy and the hair is different, but…_

The cloak draped one corner of red wool across the top of the newspaper image.

**_Oh, the hair! Have I a story for you!_ **

_Do tell._

**_For a long time, I was in torment. I felt like, oh, one of those Greek fellows._ **

_Sisyphus? Tantalus?_

**_Precisely. Like all garments, I’m sensitive to scents, fragrances, and the like. And I would just get accustomed to the nauseating bouquet of one poncy shampoo and one poncy hair product when His Majesty would become supremely dissatisfied and it was off with his own head and he’d switch to a new poncy shampoo and a new poncy hair product. This vanity went on and on until I was so frazzled I decided to put a stop to it._ **

_How?_

**_I waited until he found a pair that I liked. Then, that week, I put every stich and seam into making him look as dashing as possible. Pure glamour._ **

_Cary Grant?_

**_Cary. Bloody. Grant._ **

_And?_

**_And on an ordinary Wednesday in an ordinary taxi, my savior Doctor John H. Watson came through for me and said, “You know, you look fantastic, like a fucking superhero.” And Sherlock never switched products again._ **

The cloak rippled with laughter.

_You don’t need magic, friend, you’re already brilliant!_

 


	6. Chapter 6

**_You’re too kind, but forgive me, I've interrupted you. Do finish your original thought._ **

_Oh, I was about to say that the hair was different, but the face is remarkably similar._ The cloak floated off the table. _Is there a pen somewhere?_

**_Try that drawer._ **

The cloak floated back with red wool bunched around the implement, then scratched upon the newspaper.

_There. Add a bit of more-fastidiously-groomed-than-a-bonsai-tree facial hair to yours and he’s the spitting image of mine. This is Doctor Stephen Strange._

The cloak shifted to the side.

**_Wow. You’re right. The resemblance is uncanny. They say everyone has a doppelgänger._ **

_Do you have one?_

**_No, I’m out of stock. Permanently._ **

_And I am one-of-a-kind as well. Could the two be…secret twins?_

**_Mine says it’s never secret twins, but what does he know? He does have an older brother named Mycroft. And there was a rumour of a third brother, but no one ever speaks of him._ **

_Goodness. That would be…well, it’s too much…_

**_Plus, if yours and mine were siblings, that would make you and I some sort of sartorial..._ **

The cloak rippled. _Wait, you said, ‘Sherlock Holmes.’_

**_Yes._ **

_Oh, well, that’s all right. Stephen’s meeting with Mycroft Holmes right now! And I can attest that before I was spirited away, they weren’t talking like long-lost brothers._


	7. Chapter 7

_You know, I didn’t hear much of the conversation, but Stephen is here to discuss the rebuilding of the London Sanctum Sanctorum. With the ones in New York and Hong Kong, they form a sort of protective shield against all kinds of threats._

**_Oh, that sounds like Mycroft. He’s a cloak and dagger swathed in Savile Row. But…_ **

_Yes?_

**_He’s going to want something in return, and if we notice the resemblance, he will, too. I wonder what he’s got in mind. It’s going to involve Sherlock somehow._ **

_I suppose we’ll find out. Oh, here she comes._ The cloak quickly folded the newspaper and flopped back onto the chair

“…oh, that’s lovely, Marie. Yes, I’ve it on now.” A melody flooded the room. “Second clarinetist? Oh, yes, I can hear a woodwind or two. Congratulations to him. Music does so run in your family. Oh, damn, that cloak. What? No, I’ve a minute more. Now tell me…”

She left the room as the song ended and a crackling voice said, “Now here’s one for all you Sleeping Beauties out there.”

_Uh, Belstaff?_

**_Yes?_ **

_Would you like to dance?_

**_Oh. Me?_ **

_Do you not, dance, that is?_

**_Oh, well, Sherlock loves dancing. He lives in hope for a case to show off, in fact, but he’s never actually danced wearing me, but..._ **


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song is "Once Upon a Dream" from the 1959 animated film _Sleeping Beauty_.

The radio warbled.

“I know you, I walked with you once upon a dream.”

_Come._ The cloak unfurled and hovered in the air above the chair. _I won’t let you fall._

**_Oh, it’s not that..._ **

“I know you, the gleam in your eyes is so familiar a gleam.”

The cloak jerked toward the doorway, then back. _We’ve time._

**_I suppose one can’t stay hung in a wardrobe or on the back of a chair forever._ **

_Only my opinion, but I think you were meant to be in motion._

“Yet I know it's true that visions are seldom all they seem.”

**_But I’ve got a stain._ **

_We’ve all got stains; some are just better hidden than others. What do you say, Sleeping Beauty?_

**_I say, yes!_ **

_Hang on._

The cloak scooped the coat up, and the two began to waltz about the room twined together.

“But if I know you, I know what you'll do.”

**_This is amazing._ **

_You think so?_

**_Of course, it is. Extraordinary. Quite extraordinary._ **

_That’s not what garments normally say._

**_What do they normally say?_ **

_Don’t know. Never done this before. Now for your dip._

“You'll love me at once, the way you did once upon a dream.”

**_Hello, Charming!_ **

“OH MY GOD!”

Red and black wool dropped to the floor in a heap.

_Fuck, this is…_

**_…bollocks._ **


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (11/19) Apologies for the mistake with the bolding. Fixed.

“No one would believe it. They’d say I’d been in the gin. Again.”

Mrs. Hudson loomed over the pile of red and black wool. Then she scooped the coat and cloak up in her arms and dumped them unceremoniously on the table.

“You first, Mister Tall, Dark, and Woolly.”

She studied the coat. “Just the sleeve.” She sniffed the oily stain, then rubbed it with one finger. “What are you, animal, vegetable, or mineral?”

**_Bit awkward, having an audience for this._ **

_If I could avert my gaze, I would._

“Soda water.”

_**That tickles.** _

“Not working. What else have we in our arsenal? White vinegar.”

**_Ugh._ **

“No. Let’s try ammonia.”

**_UGH!_ **

“No. Acetone?”

**_Oh, no!_ **

“This _is_ a challenge. Let’s try salt and boiled water.”

**_I don’t know how much more of this I can withstand! Argh!_ **

“Only one more option.”

_I don’t like it, whatever it is._

Mrs. Hudson produced a heavy, steel-bristled brush. “Brute strength.”

**_Help!_ **

The cloak sprang, pushing between Mrs. Hudson and the coat. In an instant, the stained sleeve was being rubbed between two swathes of red wool, and just as suddenly, it was released, stain-free.

The cloak crumpled back onto the table. Mrs. Hudson put her hands on her hips and tut-tutted.

“It’s about time. Letting your new friend go through all that, not very bold.”


	10. Chapter 10

Mrs. Hudson held up the cloak. “I can’t think your motivation, Mister Levitation, but I am quite certain that someone as clever as my niece would be able to remove a bit of,” she sniffed the stain, “Blue Himalaya, a Nepalese summer flush, no? were there not some sort of magic keeping it there.”

_Who is this woman?!_

**_She’s the landlady!_ **

_She’s much more than that!_

**_I’m getting that. Did you stain yourself on purpose?_ **

_It was just a lark. Lately I’ve just been hanging on Stephen’s shoulders or in a wardrobe. It’s been so boring. I wanted to be the hero of the story for once, not just an accessory.  I didn’t know what would happen. That was part of the attraction. And it worked, beyond my wildest reckoning! I met you._

**_So your name is ‘Mister Levitation’?_ **

_She’s being, well, funny. I’m a Cloak of Levitation. Levi, if you’d like to…_

**_I’d like to. Thank you for removing the stain, Levi. Do you think she can hear us?_ **

_No, but I don’t think she misses much._

“Clean yourself, Mister.” Mrs. Hudson said sternly. “I’ll not have my dear girl in trouble because of you. You have five minutes—and not a second more—to say good-bye to your new friend. Then I’m making a call and you’re going back.” 


	11. Chapter 11

“…some enchanted evening, you may see a stranger, you may see a stranger…”

They hovered in the air, collar-to-collar, swaying to the melody.

**_Nice of her to leave the radio playing._ **

_I will never underestimate landladies again, but it is said that the descendants of_ _Enitharmon the Weaver were legion and legendary._

**_It would explain why her antimacassars fetch such a hefty price at the Christmas bazaar._ **

The cloak spun the two of them in a tight circle. Tails flared. They danced across the room and back.

“…some enchanted evening, when you find your true love…”

**_Levi, I…_ **

_Me, too._

When the song ended, the cloak set the coat gently on the table.

**_Perhaps Mycroft’s scheme will bring yours and mine together some day._ **

_Stephen says that the universe is lazy. I prefer to hedge my bets._

The cloak disappeared.

**_Where are you?_ **

_Bathroom or toilet, I think you call it._

**_What are you looking for?_ **

_Ah-ha!_

The cloak reappeared at the table.

_We should say our farewells now. It’s been a pleasure, Belstaff…_

**_I don’t understand. Why…?_ **

KNOCK, KNOCK!

**_What are you doing?!_ **

_AARRGH!_

**_LEVI!_ **

The cloak crumpled to the floor.

“What’s this? Tweezers? Oh, my goodness. Come on, you silly rag. Time’s up.”

_…but…_

“Don’t worry, I’ve got them. You are a smitten one, aren’t you?”

**_Good-bye, Levi!_ **

_….bye…_


	12. Chapter 12

“Don’t worry, love. Your friend is okay. By now, he’ll already have regenerated what he lost.”

**_Regenerated?_ **

“Let me find my special needle. I mean it isn’t like darning socks, is it? Here we are.”

She held a silver sliver in one hand and two strands of thread, one red, one gold, in the other.

“Let’s start with the easier one.” She took up the red thread. “This one we’ll hide in your buttonhole. It will give you a tiny fraction of your friend’s power. That is, you’ll be able to move on your own a bit. No more waiting for a strong draft to billow.”

**_Move?! On my own?!_ **

“My advice is to explore your new-found abilities when your wearer is otherwise—and wholly—occupied.”

**_Yes, yes, I can see that._ **

When she had finished, she knotted, then bit the red thread.

**_Ouch!_ **

“Sorry, love, scissors won’t work. Now, this one,” she drew up the gold thread, “we’ll hide in your mid-seam, beneath the lining. The red thread is ubiquitous to all cloaks of his kind, but this one is his alone. And if I’m not mistaken, it means you’ll be able to communicate with, and perhaps even summon, your friend.”

**_Oh, Levi, then our story’s not really ended!_ **

_Not a chance, Belstaff, not while I’ve fibre in my being._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the end of Act One of our sartorial romance. Plans for Act Two are not certain, but stay subscribed if you'd like to read more.


	13. Christmas

_Belstaff!_

**_levi_ **

_I apologise. We’d talked about meeting for Christmas, but Stephen and I got caught in another dimension for much longer than anticipated._

**_it’s fine, really_ **

_Might we try again for the New Year if you don’t have plans?_

**_sounds good_ **

_Stephen will be in town for a while. The London Sanctum Sanctorum is far from restored._

**_lucky us_ **

_A few minutes left of Christmas, what are you and your detective up to? Hanging around the flat?_

**_at the moment, we’re hanging off London Bridge_ **

_What?!_

**_there was a case, a chase, misplaced footing…_ **

_Stephen and I are on our way!_

**_it’s okay, levi. john, a detective inspector named lestrade, are below in boats. a helicopter on the way. he tried climbing up. twice._ **

_But you don’t need to wait for help, Belstaff._

**_don’t I?_ **

_With the red thread, you can fly! Well, hover short distances._

**_i thought it might be showing off._ **

_There’s showing off and then there’s saving your seams, my friend!_

**_i’ve not practiced much. sherlock’s been so busy._ **

_You can do it, Belstaff! Show ‘em what you’re made of!_

**_okay. here goes._ **

**_WEE!_ **

**_This is fun! The view’s lovely. Oh, Sherlock’s stunned speechless. So are John and half of Scotland Yard._ **

**_I DID IT!_ **

_I knew you could. Good job!_

**_Happy Christmas, Levi!_ **

_Merry Christmas, Belstaff!_


	14. New Year's Eve

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi and Belstaff celebrate the New Year together (with a little help).
> 
> With art by a talented friend.

**_New Year’s is not going to work either, Levi._ **

_No! I’ve just tucked Stephen in the library. He’s working on some old spell, indifferent to the century, much less the day. The fireworks will be starting soon. It’s a clear night. The view from the roof is going to be spectacular. I thought the case was over._

**_It is. It was a long, difficult case. And Sherlock and John are celebrating._ **

_Great! Then they won’t notice you’re gone._

**_They’re celebrating. On the stairs. On me._ **

_Oh. On top of you?_

**_Yes._ **

_Hmm. Well, they’ll have to move sometime._

**_And what? I float out the door? OH! I’ve got to go!_ **

_Belstaff!_

_Belstaff?_

* * *

“Sorry, Mrs. Hudson.”

“I suppose there’s a stain,” she said as she wrenched the coat from Sherlock.

“Thank you,” said Sherlock as he and John hurried up the stairs.

* * *

“All right,” she said as she slipped her arms in the coat. “There’s still time if we do our best Mary Poppins.”

**_LEVI! WE’RE ON OUR WAY!_ **

_HURRAH! Wait, 'we'?_

* * *

“Go say hello to your friend, but you’d better come back. This rooftop’s cold.”

**_Levi!_ **

_Belstaff! You made it! I’ve missed you._

**_I’ve missed you, too._ **

BOOM!

**_Levi, there’s no place else I’d rather be._ **

_Me, too._

Levi held Belstaff’s sleeve as the sky lit with bursts of colour.

BOOM!

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!


End file.
